U.S. Under 20 National Team to Start Play in the Nike Milk Cup Today

The U.S. U-20 team will travel to Northern Ireland to take part in the Milk Cup July 26th through 30th against U-20 teams from Mexico, Japan, Denmark, China, and Northern Ireland. The U.S. plays China on today and Denmark on the 28th. The final is slated for July 30th.

The tournament is a premiere youth event in Europe, not just for the international teams but for the club youth teams that come to play. On list this year are youth teams from Manchester United, Tottenham, Cruz Azul, Bolton, F.C. Porto, and Deportivo Brazil. Thomas Rongen has announced a team that includes some obvious names, some new names, and is also missing some big names.

This roster is a good mix of experienced U.S. youth players and new blood. Players like Omar Salgado, Adrian Ruelas, Ernest Nungaray are new to the U.S. youth system and recently made their first camp with the U-20s. As one of the top soccer talent producing states in the nation Texas is well represented. Salgado, Alex Molano, the Dynamo’s Francisco Navas-Cobo, and Greg Garza make up the Texas contingent. Each of these players stand to see a good amount of playing time considering all three games will take place within five days.

Five players I am particularly excited to see:

1. Omar Salgado who is looking for a move back to the United States after leaving (or being forced to leave) Chivas in Mexico when he picked the U.S. U-20 team. The biggest need area for the U.S. is a goal scoring threat and Salgado has received quite a bit of training in a good youth system.

2. Juan Agudelo oozes talent and his success in Columbia and with Red Bull New York intrigues me. He has the talent to be the next big thing at forward.

3. Gale Agbossoumonde is a talented centerback and I am interested to see his improvement from the last U-20 world cup now that he has been with F.C. Porto for awhile.

4. Francisco Navas-Cobo received good reviews from Rongen after the Dallas Cup. I am anxious to see the Dynamo man perform on the international stage.

5. Alex Molano plays in with Dinamo Zagreb. Honestly, I have not seen the kid play before and am looking forward to see him for the first time.

The main reason for omissions is that FIFA does not require teams to release players. Players such as Tristan Bowen, Jack McInerney, and Amobi Okugo are receiving regular time in MLS and need to remain with their clubs. Sebastian Lletget of West Ham would be an obvious candidate for this team but he is recovering from a bout with Mono.

Five noticeable omissions:

1. Kofi Sarkodie, Akron. Sarkodie is a top fullback prospect that quite a few “experts” feel is the biggest rising star in the defensive player pool at this level because of his speed and awareness. He will see plenty of time this season at NCAA powerhouse Akron University.

2. Luis Gil, Real Salt Lake. Gil is one is the second youngest player in the U-20 player pool but one of the most technically gifted. He is not receiving time at RSL currently which makes me wonder why he was not brought into the team.

3. Lester Dewee, Olypique Marsellie. Dewee is not in the same position as Lletget at OM in France. From reports he is not pushing for a roster spot. That fact coupled with him being European based makes me wonder why he was left off the roster.

4/5. Charles Renken & Joseph Gyau, Hoffenheim 1899/Vancouver Whitecaps. Renken and Gyau are in the same boat. They are club mates in Hoffenheim’s satellite youth academy in Vancouver. They seem like prime targets to be brought into this tournament to see if their skills have increased while playing in the youth system.

You can get more information about the tournament at it’s website www.nimilkcup.org. The U.S. versus Denmark will be streamed on BBC Blast at 1:00pm CT on the 28th, check the website for more information, and the tournament has a Youtube channel of its own.

What are your thoughts on this youth event? Will you try and catch the U.S. v. Denmark match to see some youngsters or are you in the call me when they are older camp?

2 Responses

thanks for giving this event visibility and for highlighting some of the players to watch. I’d like to see some of these players while in the U20 system. The US is getting better at identifying talent for our national teams and selecting from a wide range of backgrounds. That’s exactly what we need to do in order to continue evolving our game from mostly physical to more mental and strategic. I also hope the Dynamo are watching these games in order to identify talent that they can pursue to replace our aging stars. Some exciting talent is developing in the US!

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16 year old Salgado is a youngster from El Paso that is still looking for a club. Hope the Dynamo kick the tires if he makes a good showing in the Milk Cup. -Darrell-

Apparently Salgado has reached a deal with the league and will in the January draft.

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Yep came out today, signed a generation adidas contract. That is important as he will not count against a team’s salary cap. Now the kid just has to wait. I was really hoping he just entered the league as a free agent but that was a long shot. And on the day he signs, he scores the only goal in the US U-20 win over China today in the Milk Cup opener. -Darrell-